My new friend, a delightfully outspoken librarian from Minnesota, encouraged me to consult with Gate Guy as I had a tight connection to Madison. Gate Guy told me if we left by 8:00, I’d make it.

We waited.

We departed at 8:20.

The “strangers” around me empathized as I would need to run like the wind to make the connection. The Southern Gentleman across the aisle whipped out his terminal map and plotted my course. The young engineer lady next to me soothed, and my librarian friend, advised, “OK, Lora—don’t ‘go librarian’ now. You let them have some of that Midwestern gusto! I’ll help you...”

Lora Kloth is a research librarian at CUNA.

After we stopped, my demure pal bellowed, “Let her through! She has a five minute connection!”

I bolted, cheers and encouragement in my wake. My 3.5” heels pounded as I ran through the terminal. I arrived wheezing at the gate. The plane? Gone. Devastating!

This frustrating experience is a great example of how in times of turmoil, strangers band together with good effect. I had an action plan, reassurance, and the assistance of my cohorts. “Strangers” felt my pain. I felt the love.

Consider your disaster plan. If service is disrupted to your membership, will they “feel the love?” Do your employees work together in a crisis, even as “strangers”? Have you considered emotional responses of troubled membership? How will you support a stressed staff?

The NCUA’s final field-of-membership rule was published Wednesday, making it effective Feb. 6. The rule, finalized by the NCUA board in October, facilitates consumer access to credit unions and provides credit unions with more flexibility.